IGNITION SWITCH PROBLEM Options

[9146-racer]

Hi Guys.
I've just read the excellent article MarkB did on re-setting the tumblers in the ignition barrel--one question not answered is, what do you do if you don't have a key ?
mine is an early 1971 car that was left to rot years ago-I am at the closing stages of the restoration and am trying to sort the ignition.
Thanks to the article mentioned earlier, I am pretty confident with the actual key switch but....how do I determine the key number to be able to order a new key?
My barrel has 2 numbers on it...05VA43 and 11905855

Many thanks.
ian9146@gmail.com

[TheCabinetmaker]

914 lock guy here.

You need to remove the swedged on plate on the back to remove the actual cylinder. Pull the cylinder out slowly and don't let any of the wafers fly out.. then pull the wafers out one at a time in a particular order. The wafer sequence tells you how to cut the key. It needs a computer operated machine to cut the key. Removing the rear plate is very tricky. One wrong move and the plate breaks. There are no plates available. Reswedging is also difficult. The entire process is a quite tedious. I can walk you through it, or you can send it to me for repair and key cut. I would try to find another lock in good shape with a key, but they are very rare. You could buy one for a vw that will work, but it'll have a VW key that's not comparable with 914 locks.